Controls on suspicious foods are intensified in the province of Brindisi. Since the beginning of 2022, there have already been 28 inspections following 12 suspected cases of foodborne diseases. And 5 non-compliance measures (sanctions, complaints to the judicial authority) have been issued so far. In the course of 2021, however, there were 31 inspections followed by 22 cases, and the non-compliance measures were 5, but over a period of twelve months, that is more than double compared to that of the current year. In the first place among the infections found are those caused by Campylobacter: they cause diarrhea, abdominal pain and fever. The second includes those originating from salmonella. The data come from the Simple Departmental Operational Unit of Food Safety and Antibiotic Resistance of the Local Health Authority, directed by Dr. Alberta Natola, and were disclosed on the occasion of the Food Safety Day; Established by a UN resolution in 2018, the Day will be celebrated tomorrow 7 June around the world.
The control system works in this way: when a doctor, hospital or private, comes across a case of suspected intoxication, he reports it to the Prevention Department of the Local Health Authority, where a specific work group is active. The group, made up of doctors and veterinarians, carries out an epidemiological investigation to identify the origin of the intoxication. In other words, information is collected on the origin of the food ingested. An inspection is then carried out on the places where the food has been purchased or administered. In the event of irregularities found, a non-compliance provision is made.
“Ours is a complex activity, which requires the collaboration of different subjects – explains Dr. Natola – and among these there is also and above all the citizen, affected or not by intoxication. It is from the citizen – he continues – that we expect a greater collaboration to identify anomalies in food. And it is precisely for this reason that we have set up a telematic counter: in a few minutes, anyone who comes across unsafe food or situations at risk can let us know without even moving from home. Just fill in a digital form of very easy to fill in. We – he concluded – are ready to intervene, and the increase in inspection activities is there to prove it. I appeal to everyone: do not hesitate to contact us. Food safety is an objective to be achieved, and to be safeguarded, all together “.
The services of the food safety area also deal with the so-called “rapid alerts”: checks on food, feed and even objects in contact with food. They are carried out when there is a danger that particularly serious diseases for human or animal health will spread. In 2021 there were 72 alerts, 7 of which were activated on the initiative of the UOSD: the checks carried out were 569, the measures of non-compliance were 11. In the first months of 2022 the alerts were 30, the checks 221, 2 i non-compliance measures. The most numerous controls concerned fish products; followed by herbs and spices, cereals and derivatives, fruit and vegetables.
Food safety desk link https://prevention.asl.brindisi.it/sicurezza-alimentare/segnalazione-alimenti/